Troubled by Lengthy Elevator Repairs

Ask Real Estate is a weekly online column that answers questions from across the New York region. Submit yours to realestateqa@nytimes.com.

Lengthy Elevator Repairs

Q.I am a rent-regulated tenant in a 32-story building. In January, the building began modernizing our four elevators, one at a time. The first phase took 12 weeks. As you can imagine, there are delays and overcrowding issues. Now, the two operating passenger elevators are not properly synced, causing lengthy delays. The management company briefly used an elevator attendant who could send the elevator down without stops when it was full, but that ended after tenants on lower floors complained. Tenants have suggested dedicating one elevator to the upper floors and the other to the lower ones, but management is not interested in our suggestions. Do we have any rights? Can we get any breaks on our rent because of this? We are obviously frustrated by the amount of time we waste each day, but this is also extremely dangerous should emergency personnel need to reach someone on a higher floor.

Murray Hill, Manhattan

A. Modernizing an elevator can be an inconvenient and grueling process that may seem endless, especially when you’re waiting on the 32nd floor for your ride to arrive.

But “modernization is a necessary evil,” said Robert Cuzzi, a principal at Van Deusen & Associates, an elevator consultancy, who has been modernizing elevators for 25 years. “In a vertical city, with older buildings and with many buildings being under-elevatored, this is a fact of life.”

Elevators wear out, and their mechanical parts need to be replaced after about 20 years of use. The process can take about 12 weeks, or even longer if something goes awry. Your elevators might seem fine to the average passenger, but there are probably problems you can’t see, which is why your landlord is embarking on this headache.

“No landlord replaces elevators that were working fine,” said Rosemary Paparo, the director of management at Buchbinder & Warren.

It sounds as if your landlord made some token attempts to improve the situation for tenants — even if you and your neighbors think they failed. Some property managers hire crews to work nights and weekends, a costly measure that can shave weeks off the schedule. However, it doesn’t sound as if your landlord is terribly concerned with speeding up this process.

If you have fire safety concerns, report them to 311 so the Fire Department can come out and do an inspection.

As for a rent reduction, rent-regulated tenants could file a claim with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal for a reduction of services, and any tenant could sue for a rent abatement in small claims court. But the landlord might prevail on this one, arguing that the work is necessary to maintain a safe, functioning building. You could also file an action in civil court to try to force the landlord to provide adequate elevator service. But again, the landlord might win because he is improving the overall safety of the building, even if it is temporarily inconvenient.

“A court would be sympathetic to the landlord,” said Ronald S. Languedoc, a lawyer who represents tenants.

Your best bet would be to ask the landlord to provide tenants with a realistic timeline for the work and ask that he update you about any delays. Sometimes just knowing how long it will be before the next elevator arrives can make a difference.

Eyeing a Neighbor’s Air Space

Q.We have been lucky to have not lost our window on a lot line wall when a new building was constructed next door. The new building maxed out its development rights so it could not build as high as our floor; we still have a window with views on the lot line wall. I have been wondering if we might (with our co-op board’s approval) cantilever a bay window or balcony a few feet into the airspace, claiming “micro air rights” above the maxed-out neighbor. There is another area of the lot line wall where there is no window now that I was considering for a new bay window.

Upper West Side, Manhattan

A. Just because your neighbors can’t build in the sky above their building doesn’t mean that you can. It’s still their property.

The letter writer “would be trespassing,” said Steven R. Wagner, a real estate lawyer. “You cannot build over the property line. You cannot cross that line.”

You could, however, add another regular window on the lot line wall, so long as you have your co-op’s approval. Just remember that the new window and the existing one could still be bricked over one day in the future. Right now your neighbor might not be able to build any taller, but two weeks from now the developer could merge its zoning lot with another zoning lot, which it might have the right to do. Or zoning rules could change for the neighborhood, allowing the developer to build higher. All these variables are why lot line windows do not satisfy the city’s requirements for light and air.

The only way that you could guarantee that your window would never be closed off is if the neighbor agreed to give your co-op an air and light easement (you can get the form on the Department of Building’s website.) But it’s highly unlikely that your neighbors would ever sign away their rights. So for now, enjoy the light and the view while you still have them.

Who Fixes the Terrace?

Q.I own a Manhattan condominium with a private terrace. The terrace was recently inspected, and there is significant structural damage. Since the terrace is outside the four walls of the apartment, am I responsible for repairs, or is the condo association on the hook?

Gramercy, Manhattan

A. Odds are, your condo association is going to be cutting a check for this one. When it comes to terraces, the unit owner is typically responsible for ordinary maintenance like cleaning the space and removing snow or ice in the winter. But the condo association is responsible for structural repairs of common elements, which would include structural problems with your terrace. This should be detailed in the bylaws and the condo declaration.

But if you have added any decking or pavers, you are still responsible for these repairs, according to Matthew Leeds, a real estate lawyer. So if the condo association has to pull up your expensive flooring to access the problem, it only has to restore the area to bare underlying building standards — not to what you had there before.